How Mets Pitcher Robert Gsellman Rediscovered Himself
After another shaky and injury filled campaign in 2020, New York Mets relief pitcher Robert Gsellman was stuck fighting for one of the final spots in the Amazins' bullpen during spring training this year.
Despite showing promise at times in his young career given his impressive stuff, Gsellman had struggled with consistency and command over the past several seasons.
Since the end of the 2019 season, Gsellman has missed significant time with a partially torn right lat, right triceps soreness and a fractured rib. Not to mention, he posted a 9.64 ERA in 14 innings during a Covid shortened season last year.
But the Mets didn't give up on the 27-year-old's potential, which has proved to pay dividends, so far through the team's first 49 games.
Pitching on nine days rest on Wednesday, left-handed starter David Peterson didn't make it out of the first inning, recording just one out. But Gsellman came to the rescue for the Mets, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings to keep his team in the game.
This is nothing new for Gsellman, who has truly become a weapon in long-relief out of the Mets' bullpen. Instead of trying to put him back in the starting rotation, where he began his big league career, the righty is being used as a swiss army knife out of the 'pen.
In 22.1 innings this season, Gsellman has 14 strikeouts, to go along with a 2.42 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.08 WHIP and 160 ERA+. And according to Baseball Savant, Gsellman is in the 97th percentile in MLB with a 24.6% hard hit rate.
Gsellman's still utilizing the same pitches: sinker, changeup and slider as the three he throws the most, while mixing in a four-seam fastball here-and-there. But, he is inducing a lot more soft contact this year.
And that is because he was able to work on altering his arm angle and release point during spring training. According to Gsellman, this change helped him get back to his natural slot and also helps his arm recover quicker in between outings.
His sinker is by far his most effective pitch and the one he throws the most, as well at 58.7% of the time. Gsellman's new arm angle and release has helped his sinker essentially sink more. His whiff rate is down 4.4% on the pitch, but his opponents are having a harder time producing hits off of it, producing a slash line of .229/.268/.333.
This mechanical adjustment has also helped Gsellman's changeup take a significant leap with a .154 slugging percentage and 35.3% whiff rate. The slider has caused hitters to swing and miss at a 29.6% rate, as well.
Although there has been some concern about Peterson's inconsistency in the rotation, the Mets should keep Gsellman, where he is at his best, and that is in the bullpen.
Not to mention that if Gsellman were to enter the rotation in place of Peterson, who would pitch in long relief every fifth day when Joey Lucchesi goes as the opener?
These are all valid questions to ask. But right now, there is no reason to mess with Gsellman, who is finally looking like the pitcher the Mets thought they were getting when he burst onto the scene as a rookie down the stretch of the 2016 season.
